nitrate = 40
nitrite = 0
ph in tank = 7.0
ph in tap = 6.4 (i add some baking soda to it)
55 gallon tank, running 2 months
whisper filter (the walmart setup)
i change about 10-20% a week
once 10" common and one 8" commet
feed them floating pellets

My common goldfish has had a recurring parasite for the last few years. He gets red streaks on his lips, becomes very inactive, and has seizures. I have tried all sorts of medicine and i really dont know what else to do. Just in the past 2 months i have tried Jungle parasite clear tabs, i have the salt in the tank at about .3%, water temperature up to about 78, and i have tried 2 different types of medicated food. I have tried the gel-tek and jungle anti-parasite food.

I posted about 6 weeks ago, but the parasite came back again! He never fully recovered, but he was almost acting normal until two days ago. Now he has a red streak on his lip and just sits at the bottom of the tank and wont eat again. When he does get up and swim around he usually opens his mouth open wide alot and either has a seizure (where he shakes his head back and forth real fast) or he will tilt his head down until he is almost perdindicular to the ground.

Any suggesttions on a better treatment?
I know i need to keep the water conditions as good as possible, but i just cant seem to get rid of the parasite.

Thanks.

Does the other fish not show any similar signs also?
Costia was the first thing that sprang to mind but head shaking could mean something either in the throat or in the gills. Does he ever swim backwards as if coughing?
Have you tried salting the tank to .3% or really high strength salt dips? If his gills are damaged though that might not be a good idea. Could you take him out and holding him in a wet flannel lift his gill plate to have a really good look to see if anything looks wrong. Healthy gills are cherry red. See if theres any discoloured egg shaped objects at all.
Hope someone else has something more to ofer.

the other fish just recently has started to be pretty inactive, but he doesnt have the same symptoms. I dont see any red on him and he hasnt had any seizures.

I havent ever tried a salt dip. How much strong should the salt content be?

I wouldnt reccommend it until you have checked the gills. If the gills arent healthy then he wont do well with the salt.
A quick dip is 9 teaspoons per gallon of tank water in a bucket and you only put him in it for a few seconds as it makes them roll. A longer bath is 5 teaspoons per gallon and you can leave him for a few minutes or until he stops moving and doesnt respond to you.
You would need to do that each day for a few days.
Have you ever salted the aquarium? If there is a parasite there then you would need to treat the tank. Is it just the two fish, no snails or dojos?

ok, ill have to check him out. Acutally, yeah i have one snail, but no other fish. I put salt in the tank -- i have tried to keep it at about .3% for the last month or so. Thanks for the advice.

Seems the salt isnt doing much then if you have the tank salted for a month. Maybe try bigger more frequent water changes, 40% twice a week for a few weeks to see if that helps any and use a gravel vac with it.